Kanadevia Inova has started construction of a new energy recovery Facility in Walsall, UK. When it commences operation, the highly efficient plant will divert up to 436,000 tonnes of non-recyclable household and business waste away from UK landfill sites and overseas treatment.

Walsall, England. Kanadevia Inova (formerly Hitachi Zosen Inova) has commenced construction of the Walsall Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) as the principal engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for its long-standing client Encyclis.

This new Kanadevia Inova project is the fourth time Encyclis has selected the Swiss greentech to be its principal EPC contractor to design, build and commission a new facility (the previous projects being Dublin in Ireland, Rookery South in Bedfordshire and the Newhurst ERF in Leicestershire). Once completed, the new Walsall ERF will be Kanadevia Inova’s twentieth waste-to-energy project built in the UK to date.

Before Kanadevia Inova could begin onsite construction, Encyclis oversaw a 10-month programme of pre-construction remediation work on the eight-acre brownfield site. As a result of working in close partnership with specialist local suppliers, Encyclis handed over the site seven days ahead of schedule.

The new single-line facility will utilise Kanadevia Inova’s new and highly efficient boiler combustion technology. This will provide Encyclis’s future operation teams with an annual guaranteed availability of 98% per annum, making this ERF one of the most efficient plants ever to be built in the UK.

When full operations commence, the Walsall ERF will treat up to 436,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste each year and produce valuable resources. The facility will divert waste away from dumping in UK landfill sites, which produces methane (a much more potent greenhouse gas than CO2) as the waste degrades, or from being exported for treatment in European WtE facilities, which increases the carbon footprint of UK waste.

The ERF will play a vital role in helping to combat global climate change by preventing pollutants from entering the atmosphere that could otherwise harm the environment and people. To achieve this, the plant’s future operations will be fully compliant with the UK’s strict environmental and operational regulations.

The plant will also enable remaining metals and bottom ash to be recovered for onward use. In addition, the non-recyclable waste will be used to generate up to 49MW of electricity – enough baseload energy to power around 90,000 UK homes. The ERF has also been designed for the future export of steam to a heat condensing exchanger which has the potential to supply up to 20MWth of heat to a district heating scheme.

“Kanadevia Inova is delighted to collaborate again with Encyclis on the new Walsall ERF, a project that exemplifies our shared commitment to sustainable development by moving more non-recyclable waste away from landfill and avoiding harmful methane emissions,” said Fabio Dinale, Executive VP of Business Development at Kanadevia Inova. “We’re very proud that this will be our fourth project with our valued client and our twentieth waste-to-energy scheme in the UK to date.”

Owen Michaelson, Chief Executive of Encyclis, said: “Since announcing the formal commencement of this project 10 months ago, we have been working hard with local partners to prepare the site for construction. We are pleased to be entering this next phase in partnership with Kanadevia Inova. When complete, Walsall ERF will provide the West Midlands with vital modern waste treatment infrastructure that not only diverts residual waste from landfill and export but recovers valuable resources from that waste in the form of electricity and reusable materials. We are also advancing plans to harness heat from the facility to be the source of a new district heat network, providing low-carbon heat to buildings in the local area. All of this is achieved through significant investment into the region, which will support regeneration, create skilled jobs and drive economic growth through the local supply chain.”

The project will see the regeneration of a disused industrial site in Walsall. More than 300 workers will be employed during the construction period and there is a commitment to purchasing goods and services locally where possible. Once operational, the facility will create around 60 full-time jobs and provide wider supply chain opportunities to support the region’s drive to be a hub of green innovation.

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Download Image: Rendering Walsall Entrance South West (Copyright Weedon Architects)